Heating means for aerosol lather dispensers



Aprll 4, 1967 J. M. WILLIAMS HEATING MEANS FOR AEROSOL LATHER DISPENSERS Filed Aug. 2, 1965 FIG.

INVENTOR JAKE MILLARD WILLIAMS' 6 ww w ATTORNEY flow out of the discharge end to the exterior.

United States Patent 3,312,375 HEATING MEANS 150R AEROSOL LATl-IER DISPENSERS Jake Millard Williams, 211 E. 17th St, New York, NY. 10003 Filed Aug. 2, 1965, Ser. No. 476,311 6 Ciaims. (Cl. 222-146) The present invention relates to aerosol lather dispensers.

In particular, the present invention relates to devices capable of heating the lather issuing .from such dispensers.

Although heating devices of this general type are already known, they are expensive, complex and extremely inconvenient to use. Moreover, the heat transfer to the lather is not very efiicient, and with many types of known devices there is a danger either of burning or of electrical shock or both. 7

It is accordingly a primary object of the present invention to provide a heating attachment of the above type which will avoid the drawbacks of the known structures.

More particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide a heating attachment which will have a very efficient transfer of heat to the lather inasmuch as with the structure of the invention it becomes possible to provide direct contact between a heating element and the 'lather, so that it becomes unnecessary to transfer heat through a wall, or the like.

Also, it is an object of the present invention to provide 'a heating device which cannot be left energized when unattended by the operator.

Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide a heating device which will not provide dangerous short circuits or the like.

In addition, it is an object of the invention to provide a heating device which prevents lather from being dispensed during actual heating of a heating element and which permits the lather to be dispensed only when an electrical circuit is open.

Further, the objects of the invention include the provi- 's'ion' of an attachment of the above type which will guarantee proper operation of theaerosol dispenser so that V the latter cannot be damaged from use of the attachment of the invention.

Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide an attachment of this type which is quite simple and in- 1 expensive and which is very reliable in operation.

Primarily with the structure of the invention there is an elongated enclosure having an inlet end which is adapted to be releasably attached to the discharge nozzle of the aerosol lather dispenser.

This enclosure has a dis- 1" charge end-distant from its inlet end so that lather which issues from the nozzle of the dispenser must flow through the enclosure before reaching the discharge end thereof to In accordance with one of the features of the invention there is situated in the hollow interior of the enclosure a heating element which because of its location in the path of flow of the lather must be engaged by the latter as the lather proceeds to the discharge end of the enclosure, and in this way the heating element serves to heat the lather by direct contact therewith.

embodiment of a device according to the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional elevation taken along line 2- i 2 of FIGURE 1 in the direction of the arrows, and show- "ice ing in section that part of the structure of the invention whichis attached to a conventional aerosol dispenser.

FIGURE 3 is a transverse section of the structure of FIGURE 2 taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows.

FIGURE 4 is a view of a strip of metal from which one embodiment of a heating element according to the invention is manufactured.

FIGURE 5 shows the strip of FIG. 4 after it has been bent to form the heating element of the invention.

FIGURE 6 is a transverse sectional view, similar to that of FIG. 3, but showing a different embodiment of a heating element according to the invention.

Referring to FIGURE 1, there is shown therein a conventional aerosol lather dispenser 10 which has removably mounted thereon the attachment 12 of the invention, this attachment being connected by conductors 14 to a transformer 16 which also forms part of the assembly of the invention and which is connected by a conductor 18 and a plug 20 to a suitable wall outlet from which power is derived.

Although the device of the invention can be adapted for use with any source of electricity, such as DC. source or even separate batteries which will render the device operable independently of any outside source of power, in the illustrated example it is assumed that the plug 20 will be placed into a wall outlet of a source of approximately volt AC. power, as is conventionally available in many locations, and with such a source the transformer 16 steps the voltage down so that the electricity delivered to the attachment 12 is in the range of 0.5-12 volts. Thus, a low voltage is provided, greatly reducing any possible danger which might result from short circuits.

Referring to FIGURE 2, the dispenser 10 includes a conventional can 22 capable of containing the lather under suitable pressure, and this can 22 has a top wall 24 and a side wall 26 depending therefrom. Extending above the top wall 24 is a conventional nozzle 28 provided at its exterior with threads 30 and capable of being tilted in any direction from the vertical position shown for opening the nozzle 28 so that the lather will discharge through the nozzle from the dispenser 10. Such structures are conventional.

The attachment 12 of the present invention includes an elongated enclosure 32 which in the illustrated example is electrically non-conductive and made of a suitable plastic. The enclosure 32 has an internally threaded tubular inlet end 34 capable of being threaded onto threads 30 of the nozzle 28 so that in this way the attachment of the invention can be removably attached to the dispenser 10. In actual practice the nozzle 28 is passed up into the inlet end 34 of the enclosure 32 and turned relative thereto for fastening the threads 30 to the inlet end 34 of the enclosure 32. Distant from its inlet end 34, the enclosure 32 has a discharge end 36 which, as is particularly apparent from FIG. 1, is quite wide, so that a broad band of lather will issue from the discharge end 36 of the elongated hollow enclosure 32. Situated in the hollow interior of the enclosure 32 is a heating element 38, and since this heating element is located in the path of flow of the lather along the interior of the enclosure 32, the lather will necessarily be heated by the heating element 38. One of the important features of the invention resides in the fact that the heating element 38 directly engages the lather as it flows through the enclosure so that it is unnecessary to transfer any heat through a wall or the like.

. The'heating element 38 is stamped or forged from an inexpensive sheet metal which, with the low voltages of the invention, can be any metal having an electrical resistance of over 60 ohms per square centimeter. It has been found that even certain types of stainless steels are suitable for this purpose. The strip of metal used to form the heating element 38 initially has the configuration of the strip 4!) shown in FIG. 4. It will be noted that this strip has essentially a zig-zag configuration in that it is made up of a plurality of U-shaped portions 42 which are alternately directed in opposed directions.

This strip of metal 46* is stamped in a suitable diepress, for example, so as to have the configuration indicated in FIG. 5 where the completed heating element 38 is shown. It is to be noted that the heating element is completely uncovered so that its surface is exposed. Thus, the heating element of the invention is not insulated in any way. Furthermore, the bending of the strip 40 into the configuration shown in FIG. 5 provides the heating element 38 with a plurality of elongated channels 44 which have comm-on side walls 46 and which extend in the direction of lather flow from the inlet .to the discharge end of the enclosure 32. The common walls 46 are interconnected at their upper edges by transverse walls 48 and at their lower edges by transverse walls 50, and it will be noted that the walls 50 alternate with the walls 48 so that with this construction the simple heating element not only provides a plurality of channels but in addition provides a surface area which is large and which is distributed over widely different parts of the lather flowing through the enclosure 32, so that this lather is very effectively heated with the heating element 38 of the present invention.

The electrical heating element 38 is provided at its free ends with downwardly depending portions 52 which extend directly through and are fixed to the wall of the enclosure 32, and at the exterior of the enclosure 32 the free ends 52 of the heating element are respectively connected to the conductors 14 which form part of the electrical circuit. It should be noted that heating element 38 is so designed that the terminal tabs 52 have a width greater than the lather-contacting portions of the heating element. This conserves electricity and keeps the surface heat low on the tabs where embedded in the plastic, so that the insulation will not be deleteriously affected. These conductors are insulated at their exteriors. The conductors 14 form a circuit which includes a push-button switch 54, described in greater detail below.

The attachment 12 of the invention includes a wall 56 which has a portion 58 formed with an opening 66 through which the nozzle 28 can freely pass. This wall 58 extends substantially parallel to and is located over the top wall 24 of the can 22, so that between the wall 24 and the wall 58 there is a gap 62. The wall 58 can only move downwardly through the gap 62 before it engages the wall 24, and, in this way, the extent of forward tilting of the nozzle 28 by manipulation of the enclosure 32 is limited.

At its right end, as viewed in FIG. 2, the wall 58 has a depending portion 64 located directly next to the side wall 26 of the can 22, and this depending portion 64 in turn is connected to a wall 66 of the attachment of the invention, this wall 66 being connected to a wall 68 which in turn is connected to a wall '70 which is directly con nected with the enclosure 32. All of these walls 56, 58, '64, 66, 68 and 70 may be formed of a suitable electrically non-conductive plastics material fixed in any suitable Way to the enclosure 32 which is also of an electrically non-conductive plastic material, and the walls 56, 58, 64, 66, 68 and 79 can extend horizontaly between a pair of opposed side walls 72 which provide the entire attachment with the configuration show-n most clearly in FIG. 1.

The wall 68 is formed with a bore receiving the pushbutton 74 of the push-button switch 54, and this pushbutton 74 has a switch member 76 capable of bridging a pair of switch contacts, as shown diagrammatically in FIG. 2, for closing the circuit when the push-button 74 is depressed by the operator. The wall 68 further carries a tubular guide for a spring 78 which engages the flange of the push-button 7 to urge the latter to its open position where the conductive bridging portion '76 is spaced from the contacts of the circuit. Therefore, with this construction in order to actuate the push-button 74 the operator must push the wall 64 to the left, as viewed in FIG. 2, and because of the close proximity of the wall 64 to the side wall 26 of the can 22, the entire attachment 12 can only tilt to a limited extent in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 2, as long as the operator maintains the push-button 74 depressed for energizing the heating element 38. As a result the nozzle 28will remain in a substantially vertical attitude as long as the operator maintains the button 74 depressed so as to close the circuit. In order to dispense the lather the operator will release the push-button 74 and tilt the enclosure .32 toward the left and downwardly, as viewed in FIG. 2, so that with this construction, the operator will not simultaneously actuate the push-button and dispense lather from the aerosol dispenser 10. As a result, whenever lather flows past the heating element 38, the electrical circuit is open, and in this way also any danger from short circuits is greatly reduced.

Of course, the heating element need not have the specific structure described above and shown in FIGS. 1-5. Thus, FIG. 6 shows a construction where a heating element 38' is provided with elongated channels 80 of substantially V-shaped configuration. The heating element 38 of FIG. 6 can be formed from an elongated electrically conductive metal strip which is bent to be provided with the alternating upwardly and downwardly extending connected walls forming the V-shaped channels shown in FIG. 6. These channels also extend in the direction of flow of lather through the enclosure 32 which is identical with that described above, while still being capable of accommodating the heating element.38, and with this construction also a large surface area of the heating element will be placed in engagement with the lather while at the same time the heating element will be distributed over substantially all parts of the lather to provide a thorough and efiicient heating thereof.

Thus, it will be seen that the attachment of the present invention is quite simple and inexpensive while at the same time being very safe and providing a very eificient heating of the lather.

What is claimed is:

1. For use with an aerosol lather dispenser which has a discharge nozzle, an enclosure having an inlet end adapted to be releasably attached to the nozzleof the dispenser for receiving lather therefrom and directing the latter along the interior of said enclosure, said enclosure having distant from said inlet end thereof a discharge end through which the lather discharges from the enclosure to the exterior thereof, and a heating element situated in the interior of said enclosure in the path of flow of lather from said inlet to said discharge end thereof for heating the lather by direct contact therewith before the lather discharges from the said enclosure, said heating element being made of electrically conductive exposed metal, and having a configuration providing it with a plurality of channels through which the lather must flow before reaching the discharge end of said enclosure, said channels being situated in side-by-side relation and having'co-mmon side walls and transverse walls, said side walls of said channels being interconnected by said transverse walls, some of which are connected to upper edges of said side walls and others of which are connected to lower edges of said side walls.

2. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said transverse walls connected to said lower edges of said side walls alternate with said transverse Walls connected to said upper edges of said side walls.

3. The combination of claim 2 and wherein said transverse walls connected to said lower edges of said side walls are longitudinally displaced from said transverse walls connected to said upper edges of said side walls,

and the entire heating element being formed from a continuous strip of metal bent to provide it with the elongated channels having said transverse walls.

4. For use with an aerosol lather dispenser having a top wall, a side wall extending downwardly from said top Wall, and a tiltable nozzle extending upwardly from said top wall and tiltable for opening said nozzle to discharge lather from said dispenser, an enclosure having an inlet end removably threaded onto said nozzle of said dispenser and a discharge end distant from said inlet end so that lather flowing from the nozzle will travel through said enclosure'before discharging through said discharge end thereof, an electrical heating element situated in the interior of said enclosure, a wall connected to said enclosure, formed with an opening through which the nozzle of the dispenser freely passes, and having a portion situated adjacent but-spaced from and extending over the top wall of said dispenser for engaging said top wall to limit tilting of said nozzle when said enclosure is tilted for opening said nozzle, said wall having a portion depending downwardly from the part" thereof which extends over said top wall of said dispenser, and said depending portion being situated alongside of said side wall and carrying a push-button switch capable of being manually closed for energizing the heating element, said push-button switch being located at a side of said depending portion directed away from said side wall of said dispenser so that when said push-button switch is actuated, said depending portion is urged toward said side wall to prevent any substantial tilting of the nozzle while said push-button switch is actuated.

5. For use with an aerosol lather dispenser which has a discharge nozzle, an enclosure having an inlet end adapted to be releasably attached to the nozzle of the dispenser for receiving lather therefrom and directing the latter along the interior of said enclosure, said enclosure having distant from said inlet end thereof a discharge end through which the lather discharges from the enclosure to the exterior thereof, and an electrical heating element situated in the interior of said enclosure in the path of flow of lather from said inlet to said discharge end thereof for heating the lather by direct contact therewith as it passes through to the discharge end, said heating element being in the form of an elongated strip of electrically conductive exposed metal having a zigzag configuration defining a plurality of V-shaped channels to direct the flow of lather therethrough, said V-shaped channels being disposed transversely of the direction of lather flow and with each channel extending parallel to said direction of lather flow.

6. For use with an aerosol lather dispenser which has a discharge nozzle, an enclosure having an inlet end adapted to be releasably attached to the nozzle of the dispenser for receiving lather therefrom and directing the latter along the interior of said enclosure, said enclosure having distant from said inlet end thereof a discharge end through which the lather discharges from. the enclosure to the exterior thereof, said enclosure being made of an electrically non-conductive material, an electrical heating element situated in the interior of said enclosure in the path of flow of lather from said inlet to said discharge end thereof for heating the lather by direct contact therewith before the lather discharges from the said enclosure,

said heating element being of electrically conductive material and being exposed in a non-insulated condition in the interior of said enclosure, a supply of low voltage,

electrically connected with said heating element, said envent any substantial tilting of the nozzle while said pushbutton switch is actuated.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,188,072 1/1940 Brown 165-51 X 2,866,884 12/1958 Minier 219--306 X 3,088,017 4/1963 Schomann.

3,116,403 12/1963 Carter 222146 X 3,134,191 5/ 1964 Davis 222-146 X 3,144,174 8/1964 Abplanalp 239- X 3,197,613 7/ 1965 Ciemochowski 219--338 3,207,369 9/1965 Rossi 222-146 X OTHER REFERENCES Eckerfeld, German application, DAS 1,174,919, printed July 1964.

RAPHAEL M. LUPO, Primary Examiner. 

5. FOR USE WITH AN AEROSOL LATHER DISPENSER WHICH HAS A DISCHARGE NOZZLE, AN ENCLOSURE HAVING AN INLET END ADAPTED TO BE RELEASABLY ATTACHED TO THE NOZZLE OF THE DISPENSER FOR RECEIVING LATHER THEREFROM AND DIRECTING THE LATTER ALONG THE INTERIOR OF SAID ENCLOSURE, SAID ENCLOSURE HAVING DISTANT FROM SAID INLET END THEREOF A DISCHARGE END THROUGH WHICH THE LATHER DISCHARGES FROM THE ENCLOSURE TO THE EXTERIOR THEREOF, AND AN ELECTRICAL HEATING ELEMENT SITUATED IN THE INTERIOR OF SAID ENCLOSURE IN THE PATH OF FLOW OF LATHER FROM SAID INLET TO SAID DISCHARGE END THEREOF FOR HEATING THE LATHER BY DIRECT CONTACT THEREWITH AS IT PASSES THROUGH TO THE DISCHARGE END, SAID HEATING ELEMENT BEING IN THE FORM OF AN ELONGATED STRIP OF ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE EXPOSED METAL HAVING A ZIGZAG CONFIGURATION DEFINING A PLURALITY OF V-SHAPED CHANNELS TO DIRECT THE FLOW OF LATHER THERETHROUGH, SAID V-SHAPED CHANNELS BEING DISPOSED TRANSVERSELY OF THE DIRECTION OF LATHER FLOW AND WITH EACH CHANNEL EXTENDING PARALLEL TO SAID DIRECTION OF LATHER FLOW. 